This invention relates to plasma reforming of feedstocks to provide a syngas which is converted to higher molecular weight hydrocarbons using a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactor and process.
Environmental, health and safety concerns are leading to requirements that offshore oil production rigs cannot flare their low value hydrocarbon gases. In such cases, the gases must be compressed for pipeline or shipboard transport to on-shore facilities. Refinery flare gases and/or bottoms can also be upgraded to more valuable products where feasible using a portion of the flare gas or feedstock and heating the reactors where necessary.
There have been a variety of approaches to reforming using plasmas. U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,761 to Piotr Czernichowski et al explores this area well. Charles B. Benham et al explores explore FT synthesis as a mechanism for upgrading reformer products, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,118, U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,449; U.S. Pat. No. 5.620,670 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,155. Both groups are working in economic niches where tax incentives, regulatory penalties, etc., must combine with other factors to contribute to the worth of the use of the processes. This is true even where there is a cheap raw material source, e.g., CO2 availability from a nearby well.
The invention combines now plants for the manufacture of FT products utilizing a plasma reformer to provide the syngas feed and the processes necessary to obtain the desired FT products. The new plants include the a) reformer and FT reactor combined plants in packaged form where the plants are integrated with a large barge or a ship and assemblable packages, i.e., kits for plant assembly on site.